Planning your dreams

Here are suggestions for planning your dreams and aiming for success

Talking about your dreams and aspirations is all well and good but, at some point, you have to stop just talking about your dreams and start planning for them. Once you take the steps necessary to formulate a game plan, living the life you dreamed of could be closer than you imagine.

Make it Concrete

Start a list of the main goals you want to accomplish. Make sure that the list is very clear and specific. (For example, don't say merely that you "want to lose weight," but that you want to "lose ten pounds by Christmas.") Then write it down. By memorializing your goals, you make them concrete. Next, post the list somewhere that you will see it every day, such as the bathroom mirror, or on the refrigerator. Every time you pass the list, stop and read your goals aloud. Commit your goals to memory and, when you recite the list, make it your mantra.

Make it Realistic

Not only should your goals be concrete, but they should also be realistic. If you are going to try to achieve your dreams you need to make sure that you aren't setting yourself up for failure. For example, if you want to be a published author you might list "Send my manuscript to prospective publishers and query agents" rather than "Become the next J. K. Rowling before Easter." Don't create goals with results that are unattainable; instead, create several smaller, more attainable goals to mark your progress towards your dream.

Plan of Action

Once you are clear on exactly what you want, you can turn your attention to how to attain your goals. This step will take some research. For instance, if your dream is to get out of debt, your plan of action might be to meet with a debt counselor to discuss a Debt Management Plan. Or, if your goal is to get into a different career field, look into the educational requirements, talk to a counselor at a local college, or go talk to others who work in that field. Take that first step!

Free Yourself

Remembering you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. -- Steve Jobs

It is easy to convince yourself that you needn't bother because nothing good could ever come out of your effort. Rather than allowing your mind to linger on every possible negative outcome, consider the worst case scenario (do try to keep it realistic, please...for your own sanity!).

For example, if you want to be a writer and you need to send off your story for consideration, what is the worst that could happen? Realistically, the worst thing that could happen is that it would be rejected. However (and this is a big however), you might actually get some useful feedback, and you do still have a story that could be submitted elsewhere. So, even if your story isn't accepted, you are still making progress. And, honestly, allowing yourself to consider the worst case scenario and realizing that the world won't end if things don't go as planned is actually rather liberating.

Find Supporters

As you embark on your journey to reach your dreams, make sure to surround yourself with people who will support your endeavors and provide inspiration. It takes courage and determination to achieve goals and naysayers will only discourage your progress and stifle your hope. Seek out others with similar goals so that you can provide moral support to one another and help buffer any negativity that might come your way.